United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese claimed that Israel's right to self-defense against the Hamas terrorist organization is "non-existent" even following the massacre of over 1,200 people and the taking of 240 hostages on October 7, News.com.au reported.
Albanese made the shocking comments during an address to the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia yesterday (Tuesday).
“Israel cannot claim the right of self-defence against a threat that emanates from a territory it occupies, from a territory that is under belligerent occupation,” she claimed.
Contrary to Albanese's assertions,Gaza has not been under Israeli occupation since 2005, when Israel withdrew every civilian and soldier from the territory.
“What Israel was allowed to do was to act to establish law and order, to repel the attack, neutralize whomever was carrying out the attacks and then proceed with law and order measures... Not waging a war," she added.
What is being done is wrong," Albanese said, accusing Israel of war crimes. "How many more people need to die?”
She further claimed that Israel “might commit the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people” and stated that the international community is "almost completely paralyzed" in stopping Israel's military actions in Gaza.
Executive council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said in response that it "beggars belief" that a UN official would deny Israel's right to self-defense or to defend its citizens following the Hamas massacre.
Other UN officials have also questioned Israel's right to self-defense with the claim that the right to self-defense only applies to attacks from other states and not terrorist organizations such as Hamas.
Last month, Chris Sidoti, the commissioner of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, the open-ended investigation against Israel established by the Human Rights Council in 2021, stated that "one difficulty that it seems is not being properly addressed in discussing the right to self-defense in those terms, under Article 51 of the UN Charter, is that that’s predominantly framed in terms of an attack by another state upon the first state and defending against state action."